Teachers Union Decertified in Wisconsin

Teachers in Kenosha, Wisconsin - the third largest school district in the state -- have voted overwhelmingly to free themselves from the clutches of the teachers union, the Kenosha Education Association, which will now disband. Thanks to the reform bill, Act 10, pushed by Governor Scott Walker, public employee unions are limited to bargaining over base pay, and must be re-certified every year.

Erin Richards of the Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel writes:

Teachers in Kenosha, as well as in Milwaukee and Janesville, all came under the authority of Act 10 starting July 1 when their teacher contracts expired. Under the law, the unions are required to file for annual re-certification by Aug. 30 if they wished to remain a recognized bargaining unit. (snip)

Christina Brey, speaking for the Wisconsin Education Association Council, downplayed recertification, calling it just another hoop for local unions to jump through.

The Kenosha Education Association (KEA), the state's third largest teachers union, was officially decertified on August 31, 2013 according to the Wisconsin Employment Relations Commission.

Mark Belling, who broke this story on Thursday , said that the decertification came after a recent vote by members in which only 37 percent voted to reauthorize the union.

KEA is the largest teachers union to disband since Act 10 was signed into law in 2011. The union had 2,400 members according to their website. Act 10 limited collective bargaining rights for public employees and required public unions to have an annual vote to recertify.

Let it sink in for moment: only a little more than a third of the Kenosha teachers wanted the union. By disbanding the union, their income goes up as they no longer are forced to pay dues, a large portion of which are then laundered into campaign funds for Democrat candidates. I do not know the exact amount of dues paid by Kenosha teachers, but I do know that teachers union dues typically are more than a thousand dollars a year.

If Act 10 reforms were adopted nationwide, the involuntary collection of money from government workers, and the laundering of said funds into Democrat campaign funds would be attenuated.

I am pro-choice when it comes to union membership. End the involuntary servitude to the union bosses.

Teachers in Kenosha, Wisconsin - the third largest school district in the state -- have voted overwhelmingly to free themselves from the clutches of the teachers union, the Kenosha Education Association, which will now disband. Thanks to the reform bill, Act 10, pushed by Governor Scott Walker, public employee unions are limited to bargaining over base pay, and must be re-certified every year.

Erin Richards of the Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel writes:

Teachers in Kenosha, as well as in Milwaukee and Janesville, all came under the authority of Act 10 starting July 1 when their teacher contracts expired. Under the law, the unions are required to file for annual re-certification by Aug. 30 if they wished to remain a recognized bargaining unit. (snip)

Christina Brey, speaking for the Wisconsin Education Association Council, downplayed recertification, calling it just another hoop for local unions to jump through.

The Kenosha Education Association (KEA), the state's third largest teachers union, was officially decertified on August 31, 2013 according to the Wisconsin Employment Relations Commission.

Mark Belling, who broke this story on Thursday , said that the decertification came after a recent vote by members in which only 37 percent voted to reauthorize the union.

KEA is the largest teachers union to disband since Act 10 was signed into law in 2011. The union had 2,400 members according to their website. Act 10 limited collective bargaining rights for public employees and required public unions to have an annual vote to recertify.

Let it sink in for moment: only a little more than a third of the Kenosha teachers wanted the union. By disbanding the union, their income goes up as they no longer are forced to pay dues, a large portion of which are then laundered into campaign funds for Democrat candidates. I do not know the exact amount of dues paid by Kenosha teachers, but I do know that teachers union dues typically are more than a thousand dollars a year.

If Act 10 reforms were adopted nationwide, the involuntary collection of money from government workers, and the laundering of said funds into Democrat campaign funds would be attenuated.

I am pro-choice when it comes to union membership. End the involuntary servitude to the union bosses.